


The Caterpillar

by Tabata



Series: Leoverse [228]
Category: Glee
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-15
Updated: 2020-02-15
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:48:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22739839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tabata/pseuds/Tabata
Summary: Blaine reaches the living room one second too late.
Relationships: Blaine Anderson/Original Male Character(s), Original Male Character/Original Male Character
Series: Leoverse [228]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/30541





	The Caterpillar

**Author's Note:**

> **WARNING:** This story is a **spin-off** sequel for Broken Heart Syndrome. This means that, despite not being properly set after BHS (but that's only because BHS is probably never going to have a proper ending and we'll keep talking about these people forever), it depicts things happening way late in the 'verse, and that may be on varying degrees of spoiler.
> 
> Written for this week's COW-T #10, Mission 3. Prompt was "Rosso di Rabbia" by Anastasio

Blaine reaches the living room one second too late and he finds himself right in the middle of a Western-style face off. All it's missing is a crowd of concerned citizens at the sides of the road, waiting to see which of the two cowboys will die today. Except that Blaine knows very well who's going to shot first and who's going to fall on the ground. This is a step away from utter disaster already.

Most of the time Blaine manages to be there before the war even begins. That's because he can read a room – especially any room Leo and Timmy are in at the same time – and he normally senses that things are going downhill even before either of them realizes it, because he knows them both like the back of his hand. Being able to defuse the bomb before it explodes killing them all is a matter of survival in this family.

This time, though, he couldn't be there when he needed to be – which would have been when Timmy came back home, he supposes, because everything was perfectly fine up to that moment – because he was too busy with the uncommonly hard task of cleaning his 6-month twins' bum and he was up to his elbows in hazardous baby poop.

He tries to tell himself that, despite his unofficial status of superhero, he can't possibly be taking care of his infant children, deal with Timmy's teen angst and his husband's metal instability all at the same time, but he knows that if he doesn't defuse the situation, he'll blame himself for it. He took upon himself to keep his family together, this is his cross to bear, and he can't let himself slip once. Not even when it's been two days since the last time he had a proper shower and three hours per night is the longest he manages to sleep.

"Can we try and talk about it, whatever it is, before jumping at each other's throat?" He asks as gently as his weary nerves let him, showing up in the living room.

Timmy is standing right in the middle of the room, arms crossed to his chest and an angry frown twisting his face in the arrogant mask he puts on whenever he's about to say something really mean. Blaine appreciates the fact that he went to stand at a safe distance from his father, putting the whole couch between them. They have never gotten physical, but there have been times when Blaine really thought they would and it was scary.

Leo is leaning against the wall, arms wrapped around himself in that half angry half nervous posture that's always the harbinger of a mild breakdown. Leo is pretty much stable nowadays, but he's got a lot of triggers. Blaine became a gold-medalist in the obstacle course that is avoiding them all, but not everybody is willing to do that. Especially not his son, who rightfully thinks he's not supposed to be responsible for his own father mental health.

Timmy always tries his best not to hurt Leo on purpose, because he's a very good kid and because he loves Leo, but when he's angry at him, when Leo does or says something that's so out of Timmy's understanding that Timmy can't even stand to look at his face – and it unfortunately happens more often than Blaine would like – he can turn very mean.

"Tell it to your husband,” Timmy snarls.

Here we go again. Leo is always _your husband_ and Timmy is always _your son_ when they're angry at each other. And Blaine gets caught up in the feud, forced not to take sides, lest hell breaks loose upon them all. Still, he can't be totally neutral either, or he gets accused of never defending one or the other, when all he really wants most of the time is to live peacefully with the people he loves around himself not wanting to claw each other's eyes out.

"He happens to also be your father,” Blaine says to his son.

"Really? Because he certainly doesn't act like one!” Timmy barks. “But that shouldn't surprise me, right? I remember you had to beg him to sign my adoption papers. As you had to beg him to have another baby. As you have to beg him to do even the bare minimum to take care of the twins. As you have to beg him for any single thing that he should be doing willingly because he loves you! Take, take, take, it's the only thing he does. But God forbid he's asked to give once in his entire life!”

That's definitely Blaine's cue to step in. He takes a few steps down the stairs and places himself between them as he feels like the couch might not be enough this time. Timmy could easily jump over it, but he would hesitate before slamming into Blaine head on, or at least that is what Blaine hopes. “Alright, let's try to calm down. What exactly is going on?”

Timmy takes a deep breath, clearly trying not to snap at him too. “What's going on is what's always going on. Alex is coming over and your husband's got his head stuck too deep into his own ass to let him stay over!”

“Timothy!” Blaine raises his voice.

“What? It's the truth! He's got no reason to say no, except that his head is a fucking mess and instead of learning how to deal with it, like any other normal person would, he uses it as an excuse to always have it his own way.” 

“I only said that it might be better if he stayed somewhere else for the moment with everything that is going on right now,” Leo says.

“Better for whom, Leo? Alex wouldn't bother you or the babies and he wouldn't mind if they cried at night since he's used to it. His friend Neri's got three little brothers and Alex sleeps at his house all the time! You're the only one who doesn't want him here! It'd only be better for you!”

“Last time he was here, there was no way of entering a room without walking into you two making out!”

“So what? Do you want to be the only one to be found bent over the kitchen table?”

Leo frowns. “It happened only once and you weren't supposed to be home till the day after!”

“Oh, so now it's _my_ fault if I come back home and prevent you from fucking on the kitchen table! My bad, next time that I feel like taking an earlier bus, I'll make sure to sleep in the streets so your fourth intercourse of the day won't be disturbed by something so trivial like your firstborn coming home after being away three weeks!”

“Jesus Christ,” Blaine hisses under his breath. 

But they ignore him, of course. “That's not what I meant and you know it!”

“It's never what you mean, Leo! Every word that comes out of your mouth is never the one you have intended, and yet it doesn't prevent you to speak!” Timmy goes on. “You know what I think? I think you don't want Alex here because he reminds you of Cody. The fact that they're so similar does something to your brain. There's a switch in that mess that goes off the moment you lay eyes on him. You're jealous that I get to have mine and you didn't get to have yours. And I can't even begin to describe how fucked up is that!”

That's a low blow, even for Timmy.

“That's enough!” Blaine barks, but it's definitely too late, isn't it?

Leo recoils and he shuts down. The light in his eyes dims and the nervous shaking of his hands increases. Blaine can see him retreating into himself, to a place from where he knows it will be hard to take him out. He takes a few steps towards his husband, knowing that Timmy will read this as him taking his side. But he can't do otherwise. It's either he gets to Leo now, before he severs any ties with the external world for weeks, or he deals with a mentally disrupted husband and two newborns for God knows how long. He knows – he hopes, again – he'll be able to talk with Timmy later. 

Blaine takes a deep breath as he wraps an arm around the shoulders of a seemingly unresponsive Leo. “Timmy—“

“Let me guess, this was uncalled for and it definitely doesn't end here, because we're talking about this again. But in the meanwhile, could I go and stay with Alex at his grandparents' two bedrooms, instead of spending two comfortable weeks here where we have not one but two guest rooms? Of course I can, because I have no choice, right? It's either I do as His Highness needs or he goes crazy again and we certainly don't want that,” Timmy walks around the couch and he goes straight for his jacket, hanging next to the door. 

Blaine should tell him to tone down the sarcasm, but can he really blame him? Being angry at what's happening is the least he can give him right now. He cringes as Timmy slams the door and Leo crumbles in his arms, not crying, just forcing the lump in his throat to go down again as he clings to his shirt, his fingers pulling at the fabric so hard that his knuckles are white. It's sadness and rage and guilt too. He usually can't deal with one emotion, let alone more than one at the same time.

His head is a dark place to be even for him, sometimes. It's just unfair that Timmy has to deal with it.

“Come, lie down for a bit,” he says softly, guiding him upstairs as he mentally makes a list of the things he has to go through now.

At least the twins are not crying. Better count his blessing, as they say.


End file.
